"When I first got into open source many moons ago, the advocacy movement was a thriving and vocal part of the community. Most of the movers and shakers back in the day were advocating the use of free and open software at work, to their friends and to their local community via LUGs and other groups. Back then, advocacy was a key part of the community, not only in showing existing computer users this alternative software, but also advising disadvantaged people for whom free software could really open up the doors to skill, employment and potential. Recently it seems this community-driven advocacy effort has petered out somewhat, and there are far fewer people talking about, conducting, exploring, refining and pushing open aource advocacy."

Most people do not hire programmers. They don't want to deal with those kinds of problems. They buy their computer with an OS pre-installed by an OEM. They get their software pre-installed or install retail shrinkwrap. If nothing suits their needs, they either try to use an existing program or they go without. That's reality on the ground.